I have a lot of tools that I use a lot for school but I think other than Newsela with a modified google form for the quizzes, I would say that I use Quill.org. Why? I teach English and our curriculum has systematically removed teaching grammar. My 8th graders come to class without a basic knowledge of grammar. I feel that it is my duty to help them understand the difference between, knowing your shit and knowing you’re shit. This is where Quill.org comes in. How? Quill.org connects to google apps for education and is easy to set up. You (as a teacher) can have students connect by the special class code given to each of your classes you created.
Teachers have a dashboard that shows them how their students are progressing on the Common Core standards. Each activity takes 10 minutes in length, and students typically complete their assignments in class. After completing an assignment, students receive instant feedback on their work. The instant feedback is valuable because they can review which concepts they understand and which ones they are struggling to master. Pros The site boasts that it provides learning activities that engage students in the writing process through web applications teaching grammar, vocabulary, and writing skills. The site does this well. Even if the grammar is correct but there is some other mistake in the student’s response it will give you a message telling you that they have the correct answer but they need to make sure everything is correct in their sentence. I find that my students enjoy most of what I assign them. It does take about 10 mins to complete an activity. It also tracks progress of student work. It provides instant feedback on their work and that helps them know what they need to work on. Cons The site is glitchy, not all the time but enough to notice. They also need to have more content. I have assigned some thing multiple times. I also give content from other lower grades. So, there can be some differentiation. Tracking and individual feedback is a paid feature. You can see some completion just not specific. One work around I have done for not having a paid subscription is to have my students take a screenshot of their progress and send that picture on a google doc to see how they are doing. Were you using the right tool for the right job? How do you know? Yeah, I feel that for a tool that teaches grammar this a very useful tool. I know this because I can tell the way that kids interact with it. It stretches their mind and then it shows them feedback instantly. I also see how much kids like it. They tricked one of my subs into letting them “play” Quill all day long. Haha pretty good stuff. I incorporate it into about 2-3 lessons a week. I use it as a warm-up activity.
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For me it is not really a matter of how will I begin to teach digital literacy, it is more of a matter of how will I continue to teach it. My kids have the opportunity to be exposed everyday to the digital world. There was a lot of frontloading and preparation that went on before they even touched a computer. I have tried to have a class that is a safe zone for the students to use. I first thought about having a strong online presence last school year when I found out that we had google classroom available in our district. In all honesty even without google classroom I still helped them to use computers and the gSuite. This year I started out with my syllabus having a technology contract between my students, their parents and myself. I will have to redo this contract for next year but it was a beginning.
My classes are made up of students with different leveled digital awareness. Because of this I have scholffolded my teaching of digital literacy. I have found that it takes about a week or two of chaos (really a couple of days) and then things are smooth and I use my TA’s and other knowledgeable students to fill in the gaps for students who were absent or just not getting it. Really it comes down to power for me. I know that having knowledge is powerful. I want to empower my students the most I can. I feel that I am thorough enough to cover most things they would need to survive in a digital junge. I then share this knowledge with my students. We explore different apps and sites together. They know that I experiment with them and they are glad to take the trip with me. So in short I teach my students through trial and error. I really like the links that were shared in ICare document. The first link did not work for me but the rest were good. I have been looking for ways to help my students have a better digital footprint. The resources were also really good edutopia, I actually was suppose to go to something a few years ago in SF and Google through edutopia but I wasn't able to make the event.
First and foremost, I love my students. I feel that we have open honest relationship that can only come at this point in the year. We have had computers since the beginning of school and the novelty has worn off them a bit (although some students do try and still play games). So, about two weeks before the Christmas break I had a new student join my class. Let’s call him Bill (name has been changed). Since Bill has started school I have seen him maybe 10 times. So he hasn’t really been integrated into the culture of my classroom and doesn't really know the norms, etiquette and the nuances that have been established. He decided that when he got his computer he wanted to change the browser to something he wanted, like a “cool” Michael Jordan skin that matched his shoes. I kindly asked him to not to change it and waited patiently for him to reset it to the “boring” screen it is suppose to be. Well, he didn’t. So, I gave him some options. One being he can change it back and live life like a happy student the other involved going up to the vp and discussing how he wanted violate our computer vandalizing rule. This story leads me to my first example of how to make learning digital citizenship personal for my students. So, I want to teach them that there are laws and/or rules that are to be followed when handling things online. There are places they can go and there are places they should not go. The whole don’t talk to strangers thing except for digitally. There are things they can do and there are things they can’t. The second lesson has to do with what they actually put out there online. They need to understand that it is (now picture the Sandlot gang saying) F O R E V E R ! Once they put something out there it is out there. It is really hard to take it back. To do this I had an example from my college years of some of the fake profiles I knew of that got some of my friends in some trouble. So, I would share their stories with them and I also have some news stories of some girl that tweeted something about their job and how they didn’t do something they were suppose to and her boss saw the tweet and fired her. When it comes down to it people should not put private stuff in the public eye. The Common Sense Media site has some good lessons to help with this too. The third way I would make learning digital citizenship personal for my students comes directly from the Digital Citizenship website. It states, learners “must be taught how to learn in a digital society. In other words, learners must be taught to learn anything, anytime, anywhere.” This is has been my focus for the year. I have been helping my students learn how to have an online presence that helps them with their future employment. We have been working on their typing skills through edutyping and we have been practicing their grammar through Quill.org. Honestly, people at school have noticed as well. We have had comments made by other teachers and administrators saying that my students are able and capable to do things online that no other teachers can do. I use Google Classroom and all the g suite applications. They must copy and paste screenshots, use their email and they write in their digital journal that they must turn in weekly. They are constantly helping one another. I teach them how to do something and then they have to teach their partners. I strive to make them self-sufficient learners. I believe the more knowledge they gain now the better they will be in the future. So, in short I really want them to be able to take what they have learned in my class and apply it to their lives and this in turn will help them be able to learn anything, anytime, anywhere. Digital Citizenship Lesson Plan Adam Vedomske
What we communicate online. Grade Level/Class Name 8th Grade ELA Time Allotment 50 Minutes Topic Our digital lives Connection to Standards CCSS: Grade 8: RI.10, W.4, W.6, W.10, SL.1a, SL.1b, SL.1c, SL.1d, SL.2, SL.5, SL.6, L.6 ISTE NETS•S:1a, 1b, 2a, 5a, 5b Learning Objectives Students will be able to ... ● learn about the 24/7, social nature of digital media. ● explore their digital lives. ● learn that it is important to act responsibly when carrying out relationships over digital media. Content/List of Materials Common Sense Media Link ● Digital Life 101 animation video ● Copy the My Media Life Is Like ... Student Handout, one for each student. ● Copy the Got Media Smarts? Student Handout, one for each student. ● Copy the Digital Life Glossary Student Handout, one for each student. ● Record Player ● Pdf on the history of phones. ● Their computers Student Purpose/ “I can” Statement ● I know that whenever I post content into an open space (ie. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) that content becomes public. I lose control of where it goes and who is able to view and modify it. ● I know my digital responsibilities. ● I understand how forwarding a personal communication may impact others Hook (10 minutes) Ask about myspace top 8. Then show Pdf Pictures of the history of the phone. Show record player and records. We will discuss some differences between digital media and traditional media, such as TV and radio, and how digital media generally allow people opportunities for interactive communication — for creation and self-expression. Instant messaging, for instance, is more “two-way,” because people are talking with one another. Media such as TV and radio are generally more “one-way,” because people generally do not interact with one another through these technologies. Innovations in digital media enable us to create, share, and communicate in addition to consuming media. Then ask “What are some of the ways people communicate with or share with others over digital media?“ DETAILED Outline of Lesson Digital Life 101 (5 minutes) SHOW students the video “Digital Life 101.” The video touches on the different types of media and digital media that exist, the actions that people take with these technologies, and even specific programs and applications. Make a Concept Map (15 minutes) CREATE a concept map on the board that contains the following headings: “Types” of digital media, “Actions” students take with digital media, “Your Feelings” about digital media, and “Your Parents’ Feelings” about digital media. INVITE students to self-reflect and brainstorm about all four parts of the concept map. Encourage them to list items that are both general (e.g., cell phones) and specific (e.g., playing World of Warcraft). Create Similes (10 minutes) DEFINE the Key Vocabulary term simile. HAVE students fill out the My Media Life Is Like ... Student Handout in which they create and illustrate a simile about their digital lives. When students are finished, they should share their similes. HAVE students place their similes on their desks and rotate three to four times so they can see different people’s similes. Have students share observations about their classmates’ similes with each rotation. You may want to provide the following examples for students of similes: • Someone who does not use much media at all might say that her media life is like a dry desert because there is little life there. • Someone might say that his media life is like a track meet because he is exhausted at the end of the day. Closing Closure and question (5 minutes): If you could give one piece of Discussion Question advice to younger kids about using the Internet or their cell phones, what would it be? Assessment Students will do quick write on Google Classroom answering two of the three following questions (5 minutes): What are digital media? What are two important characteristics of digital media? Why might people feel differently about their digital lives? |
Adam Vedomske father of Danger Archives
May 2017
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